During the Q&A following panel presentations during the Base-load Electricity from Natural Gas and Nuclear Power symposium at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy last month, I described an incident at the Browns Ferry nuclear plant and mentioned it was the third scariest moment I had experienced during my career in nuclear plants. At the next break, someone asked about my scariest moments. Here are my five scariest moments...

Govt. studies seam beneath Ohi nuclear plantJapan's Nuclear Regulation Authority has conducted a survey at the country's only operating nuclear power plant to determine whether a seam under the facility is an active fault.

A team of experts dug into the ground at the Ohi plant in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, on Friday.

The 900-meter-long seam runs between areas below the plant's No. 2 and 3 reactors. A key pipeline that transports cooling water from the ocean to the reactors runs across the fissure.

The plant's operator, Kansai Electric, said in an interim report released on Wednesday that the seam cannot be considered an active fault. [link to www3.nhk.or.jp] .

Niigata's 30 towns, villages agree on nuclear evacuation guidelineRepresentatives from all 30 cities, towns and villages of Niigata Prefecture agreed Friday on evacuation guidelines in the event that an accident strikes Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station, the world's biggest atomic power complex.

The guidelines were compiled after the representatives discussed how best to coordinate shelter destinations for each municipality based on wind directions in the event of an accident at the seven-reactor, 8.21-million kilowatt station. [link to english.kyodonews.jp] .

Local gov'ts rap state for lacking local views in energy strategyA group of local governments in areas hosting nuclear power plants nationwide criticized the central government on Friday for not reflecting their views in the country's new energy strategy that aims to phase out nuclear power in the 2030s and called for creation of an arena to discuss the policy direction.

"There was no detailed explanation to or hearings in the areas hosting plants in the process of compiling the energy strategy...We want the government to swiftly create a forum to discuss energy and environment policies," the All Japan Council of Local Governments with Atomic Power Stations said in a petition handed to industry minister Yukio Edano. [link to english.kyodonews.jp] .

BTW, what do you mean with a "Temp-Staff Worker"?... you can't just ask a guy on the street: "hey, wanna work at a nuke plant?"... there has to be a security check and a health check before you're allowed in... if those are ok there's a one day introduction course about how to protect yourself and special considerations while working on a nuke plant....

Ameren, Westinghouse still waiting for decision on nuclear grantIt was six months ago that Ameren Missouri and Westinghouse officials joined Gov. Jay Nixon on the lawn of the governor’s mansion to announce plans to pursue a first-of-its-kind mini nuclear reactor that would be built next to the utility’s Callaway plant.The effort had bipartisan political support. Other Missouri electricity suppliers were on board, as well as the state’s university system. Everything seemed in place — almost.

The whole plan hinged on getting at least a share of a $452 million federal grant to advance commercialization of next-generation nuclear technology. [link to www.stltoday.com] .

The following is the known status as of Friday morning of each of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and the four reactors at the Fukushima Daini plant, both in Fukushima Prefecture, which were crippled by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami on March 11.

Niigata drafts nuclear accident guidelinesOfficials in Niigata Prefecture have agreed that local authorities outside government-set evacuation areas will also have to draw up their own measures to respond to a possible accident at a local nuclear power plant.

A panel made up of all municipalities in the prefecture agreed on the guideline on Friday. The panel had discussed disaster management plans since the Fukushima nuclear accident.

Municipalities within the 30-kilometer radius from the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in the prefecture will create extensive disaster response plans in line with new government guidelines adopted on Wednesday. [link to www3.nhk.or.jp] .

Tokyo Electric to open Fukushima officeTokyo Electric Power Company plans to open a new office in Fukushima Prefecture. It will have more than 4,000 employees to deal more effectively with the aftermath of last year's nuclear accident.

The company has decided to relocate the sections in charge of compensation for people affected by the accident and for removing radioactive materials from around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Post-Fukushima preparedness survey shows lack of evacuation sitesMore than 30 percent of municipalities that fall within the government's new disaster preparation zone around nuclear power plants say they have yet to secure sufficient evacuation sites in the event of an atomic accident in their locality, a Kyodo News survey showed Saturday.

The survey found that 29 of the 83 municipalities in 20 prefectures, excluding those in Fukushima Prefecture, home to the crippled Fukushima Daiichi complex operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., which were freshly included in the zone, are not fully prepared for evacuating their residents in such a circumstance.

The study also found that 90 percent of the municipalities have yet to decide how to distribute iodine tablets for protecting the thyroid from radiation exposure, with many citing concerns over possible side effects and problems with storage conditions. [link to english.kyodonews.jp] .

4 out of 6 experts in nuclear safety panel got grants from utilitiesFour out of the six members of a government team drafting new safety standards for nuclear reactors have received between around 3 million yen and 27 million yen each in grants, donations and compensation from utilities in the past three to four years, according to data disclosed by the Nuclear Regulation Authority on Friday.

The regulatory body's secretariat said the members "have been selected in line with rules, and there should be no problem." Critics, however, say the members' judgments might be swayed by the wishes of donors, exposing safety regulations to the risk of being watered down. [link to english.kyodonews.jp] .

A full one year and eight months after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. has acknowledged that four workers, not three as it had maintained, were exposed to varying levels of radiation soon after the crisis unfolded.

It said the men were working in the basement of the turbine building for the No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

TEPCO and its business partner Kandenko Co. had previously said that only three workers waded through highly contaminated water on March 24, 2011.

That story held up until last month. A different worker revealed during a Nov. 1 news conference that he had refused to go to the basement but someone else went there.

One of the two reactors at the Comanche Peak nuclear power plant near Glen Rose was shut down early Friday after a cooling pump overheated, the operator reported.

According to an event report filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Unit 1 was shut down manually at 1:42 a.m. because of "high temperature indications" in a motor bearing on one of four huge pumps that circulate cooling water around the reactor.

An alarm that warns of an improper level of oil for the pump also sounded, the report stated.

The Unit 1 reactor also experienced an unusual event Wednesday morning when a backup generator started unexpectedly. According to an NRC event report, a faulty power supply "was identified and further investigation/calibration will determine if other conditions contributed to the fault."

“The reality is that the oil industry is driven by reaping profits from new production sites,” Kretzmann told IPS.

Massive investments in deep water drilling, tar sands and new oil and gas extraction technologies such as horizontal fracturing are driving production levels to new highs. An analysis by Oil Change International found that those investments by fossil fuel companies and their backers put the planet on the path for temperatures to rise at least eight degrees Celsius.

Leading scientists consider a temperature increase of four degrees Celsius to be catastrophic. At those temperatures, the Arctic will be eight to twelve degrees Celsius warmer. Most of the carbon-laden permafrost will thaw, with disastrous positive feedback. A rise of six degrees Celsius would render large parts of the world unlivable. Hardly anyone has considered the consequences of eight degrees.

A full one year and eight months after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. has acknowledged that four workers, not three as it had maintained, were exposed to varying levels of radiation soon after the crisis unfolded.

It said the men were working in the basement of the turbine building for the No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

TEPCO and its business partner Kandenko Co. had previously said that only three workers waded through highly contaminated water on March 24, 2011.

That story held up until last month. A different worker revealed during a Nov. 1 news conference that he had refused to go to the basement but someone else went there.

GLP's best Fuku thread: Thread: *** Fukushima *** and other nuclear-----updates and linkstwitter: #citizenperth“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on it, I would use the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I knew the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”- Albert Einstein

Describing the Marshall Islands as "paradise turned upside-down," Horowitz contrasts images of the fully operational Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll with abandoned parts of the archipelago, where radiation levels remain too high for former residents and their families to return. Footage of living conditions on Ebeye Island, home to some 16,000 displaced persons occupying just 65 acres, strongly supports Horowitz's claim that this destination has become "the ghetto of the Pacific."

Whether or not auds subscribe to Horowitz's proposal that the Marshall Islands are a "microcosm of what modern man has done to the entire world," few will be left unmoved by the indisputable evidence of lives being severely affected by the weapons testing program.